Stator winding method and apparatus including winding forms mounted on coil support extensions

ABSTRACT

For winding a field coil onto a two pole stator core of the type having pole pieces with coil support extensions with outwardly extending coil retaining fingers, two pairs of winding forms are removably supported on carriages manipulated to mount the winding forms on the coil support extensions before winding a stator and to remove the winding forms after winding. During winding, the winding forms are clamped to the coil support extensions by spring-biased latch mechanisms interconnecting the opposite pairs of winding forms. Each latch mechanism includes a rotatable latch member which, in one embodiment, is rotatable about an axis that is generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of the stator being wound or, in another embodiment, is rotatable about an axis generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the stator being wound.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a stator winding method and apparatus andespecially to a method and apparatus for winding two pole stators fordynamoelectric devices.

This invention is primarily intended for winding stators of the typehaving coil support extensions connected to the pole pieces andextending from both end faces of the stator for the purpose ofsupporting the stator coil end turns, the coil support extensions havingoutwardly directed coil-retaining fingers spaced from the end faces ofthe stator core.

This invention is intended for use with well known methods and apparatusfor winding stators wherein coils of wire drawn from sources of wireunder tension are wound around the pole pieces by a reciprocating andoscillating winding head or ram. The winding head or ram is driven by amechanism such as that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,158,314. A commonpractice when winding two pole stators in this fashion is to use twopairs of oppositely directed shrouds or winding forms, one pair for eachpole, that guide the wire segments exiting from the winding head aroundthe pole pieces. The shrouds or winding forms are usually secured to thestator by pairs of form-retaining clamps or blades but it has beenrecognized that there are disadvantages to the use of the form retainingblades. The manipulations required to operate the blades or clamps aretime-consuming and significantly limit production speeds. In addition,space for insertion of the blades must necessarily be provided by a gapbetween the end faces of the stator core and the coil end turns, afactor which can have a negative effect upon the characteristics of thewound coils.

A primary object of this invention is to provide a method and apparatusfor winding a two pole stator utilizing shrouds or winding forms whichmay be rapidly and securely assembled onto a stator core and rapidlydisassembled from the stator core. A related object of this invention isto provide a method and apparatus that do not require the use ofform-retaining blades. A further object of this invention is to providea method and apparatus wherein the steps of assembly and disassembly ofthe winding forms on the stator cores are accomplished automatically.

In accordance with this invention, two pairs of winding forms aremounted on the coil support extensions and have surfaces engaging theoutermost surfaces of the coil retaining fingers thereon so that thewinding forms are prevented from moving radially inwardly of the statorcore. Each pair of winding forms has a latch mechanism interconnectingthem, and a spring, coacting between one of the winding forms and thelatch mechanism, biases the winding forms against the coil supportextensions.

A pair of winding form carriages move the winding forms toward and awayfrom a stator to be wound and support the winding forms when notsupported by a stator.

Each latch mechanism comprises a latch lever rotatably connected to oneof the winding forms and extending toward the opposed winding form onthe opposite end of the stator. The latch lever terminates in a free endadjacent the opposed winding form and has a latching flange extendinggenerally perpendicularly from the free end. A latch retaining member ismounted on the opposed winding form. The latch retaining member has alatch hook positioned to be engaged with and disengaged from thelatching flange by rotation of the latch lever.

Two embodiments of latch levers are disclosed herein. In one embodiment,which is presently preferred, the latch lever is rotatable or pivotedabout an axis generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of astator to which the winding forms are connected. In the secondembodiment, the latch lever is rotatable about an axis generallyparallel to the longitudinal axis of a stator to which the winding formsare connected. In either case, the latch retaining member is slidablymounted on the opposed winding form.

Winding form carriages are provided for automatically assembling thewinding forms onto a stator and disassembling the winding forms from thestator. The carriages are provided with means for supporting the windingforms and for manipulating the latch mechanisms.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the followingdescription and the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a stator to be wound, a fragment of awinding head used to wind coils on the stator, and upper and lower pairsof winding forms manufactured in accordance with this invention inposition to be connected to the stator. In addition, FIG. 1 includes afragmentary perspective view of portions of carriages in accordance withthis invention for positioning the winding forms and controlling thelatch mechanisms that connect the winding forms to one another when theyare assembled on a stator. To better reveal details of construction, theparts of the carriages are shown spaced from the winding forms. FIG. 1also diagrammatically illustrates the movements of these mechanisms.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the upper pair of windingforms of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the upper pair of windingforms as viewed generally from below, as indicated by the sight line3--3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a bottom plan view of the upper pair of winding forms, asviewed in the direction of arrows 4--4 of FIG. 1, but FIG. 4 representsthe position of the parts at a later stage in the assembly thereof. FIG.4 additionally includes a fragmentary plan view of a portion of the formpositioning and connecting mechanisms.

FIG. 5 is a bottom plan view of the upper pair of winding forms similarto FIG. 4, but represents the winding forms after they have been fullyassembled on the stator. The stator is not shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 inorder to avoid a confusion of lines.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary side elevational view, with parts broken awayand parts shown in cross-section, showing one of the winding forms as itis being assembled onto a stator.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary side elevational view, with parts broken awayand parts shown in cross-section, similar to FIG. 6, but showing thewinding form after it is assembled on a stator.

FIG. 8 is an end elevational view of the winding form of FIG. 7 takenalong line 8--8 of FIG. 7 and showing, in cross section, a portion ofthe coil support extensions on the stator and a portion of the otherwinding forms.

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary perspective view of the head of a mounting pinforming part of the mechanism for interconnecting the two upper windingforms together.

FIG. 10 is a enlarged fragmentary side elevational view of a portion ofthe mechanism of FIG. 6 within circle 10 thereof, including the mountingpin illustrated in FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is a bottom plan view similar to FIG. 4 but of anotherembodiment of winding forms in accordance with this invention.

FIG. 12 is a bottom plan view similar to FIG. 5 but of the embodiment ofFIG. 11.

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view, taken along line 13--13 of FIG. 11,of a portion of a winding form latch and a ball detent device usedtherewith.

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of another portion of the winding formlatch, taken along section line 14--14 of FIG. 11, and illustrating theposition of a hook at the end of the latch when the latch is in theposition illustrated in FIG. 11 before the winding forms are latchedtogether.

FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 13 but taken alongline 15--15 of FIG. 12 and illustrating the parts after the forms arelatched together.

FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 14 but taken alongline 16--16 of FIG. 12 to show the position of the hook after thewinding forms are assembled together.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

With reference to FIG. 1, this invention relates to a stator windingmethod and apparatus for winding a two pole stator, generally designated20, for a dynamoelectric device. Stator 20 includes a substantiallyhollow, generally cylindrical laminated core 22 formed with a pair oflongitudinally-extending, diametrically opposed, pole pieces 24. As isnow a common practice, both ends of both pole pieces 24 are providedwith longitudinally-extending coil support extensions 26 for supportingthe end turns of the stator coils. Coil retaining fingers 28 projectgenerally radially outwardly from the free ends of the coil supportextensions 26, i.e. The ends most remote from the end faces of thestator core 22. Stator 20 additionally comprises a plastic end plate 30covering the left end face of the core 22 (as viewed in FIG. 1) and theopposite end face is covered by another plastic end plate or terminalboard 32 having sockets 34 for terminal posts (not shown), theconstruction of which is unimportant for purposes of this invention. Thecoil support extensions are typically integrally formed with the plasticend plates.

Coils of wire (not shown) are wound on the pole pieces 24 by means of awinding head or ram 36, shown in greatly simplified form in FIG. 1, thatdraws two wires W from sources of wire under tension (not shown) andreciprocates through the bore of the stator and oscillates at each endof each reciprocating stroke, as well known, to wind two coilssimultaneously, one around each pole piece 24. The ram 36 may be drivenby the mechanism shown in United States patent No. 4,158,314, or by anyone of several other mechanisms that have been developed for thispurpose.

As is also well known, at the beginning of the winding operations, thefree ends of the wires W are gripped by wire clamps (not shown) near thestator 20 and, after the coils are wound, the wire segments leading fromthe wound coils may be temporarily clamped by other clamps (not shown)in fixed relation to the stator and thereafter connected to terminalposts positioned in the sockets 34. The manner in which the wires arehandled may be entirely conventional and forms no part of thisinvention, and is therefore not illustrated or further described herein

There are four wire-guiding shrouds or winding forms shown in FIG. 1,namely a pair of upper winding forms 40 and 42 and a pair of lowerwinding forms 44 and 46. Here it may be noted that terms such as upperand lower, left and right, and the like, are used in a relative senseand not in an absolute sense herein. For example, the stator 20 is shownin FIG. 1 as if its longitudinal axis is essentially horizontal but itcould be vertical or at some other angle relative to horizontal.

In accordance with this invention, the shrouds or winding forms 40, 42,44 and 46 are secured to the stator core 20 without the use of the usualform-retaining clamps or blades. For this purpose, the winding forms 40,42, 44, and 46 are mounted on the coil support extensions 26 and havecentrally located recesses or pockets 50 facing the stator core 22 that,when the winding forms are assembled on the stator core 22, receive thecoil retaining fingers 28. As will be described below, the winding formsare spring-biased against the coil support extensions 26 so that theengagement of the coil retaining fingers 28 within the recesses orpockets 50 prevents the winding forms from accidentally moving radiallyinwardly of the stator core 22. Pocket 50 is shown in FIGS. 1, 6, 7 and8.

With reference to FIGS. 2 through 5, the upper pair of winding forms 40and 42, when assembled on the stator 20, are interfit and latchedtogether to form an upper winding form assembly, generally designated52. The lower pair of winding forms 44 and 46, shown only in FIG. 1,also form a lower winding form assembly, generally designated 53, whichis an exact mirror image of the upper winding form assembly 52, as willreadily be understood by those familiar with the art. Accordingly, onlythe upper winding form assembly 52 is further illustrated and describedherein In the remainder of this text, parts of the lower winding formassembly 53 that functionally correspond to parts of the upper windingform assembly 52 described hereafter are identified by the samereference numerals.

The left side upper winding form 40 is a male member having a pair ofelongate rods 54 adapted to extend through the stator bore and the upperright side winding form 42 is a female member having a pair of sockets56 for slidably receiving the free ends of the rods 54. In addition tobeing interfit by the rods 54 and the sockets 56, the assembled upperwinding forms 40 and 42, as shown in FIG. 5, are latched together by alatch mechanism, generally designated 58, comprising a latch member orlever 60 rotatably or pivotally mounted on the male winding form 40 by apivot pin 62 affixed to the body of the winding form 40 by a small setscrew 64. As will be observed, the axis of rotation of the latch lever60 is generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the stator 20,and the latch lever 60 is biased to rotate about the axis of the pivotpin 62 by means of a coil spring 66 coacting between one end of thelatch lever 60 and an internal surface of the male winding form 40. Theother, free end of the latch lever 60 forms a hook 68 for purposes whichwill become apparent.

A latch retaining member 70, having a latching flange 72 is affixed to alatch retaining mounting pin 74 by a roll pin 76. Latch retainingmounting pin 74 is slidably mounted for movement in a direction parallelto the longitudinal axis of the stator 20 in a bore 78 extending throughthe body of the female winding form 42. As best shown in FIG. 6, theouter end of the bore 78 is enlarged to receive a form-biasing spring 80coiled about the latch retaining mounting pin 74 and coacting betweenthe enlarged head, designated 82, of the latch retaining mounting pin 74and the confronting surface of the female winding form 42. Enlarged head82 has straight sides confined between confronting surfaces of thefemale form 42 so that the latch retaining member 70 is prevented fromrotating.

When the winding forms 40 and 42 are fully assembled as shown in FIG. 5,the form-biasing spring 80 is effective to bias the latching flange 72against the latch hook 68 at the end of the latch lever 60. In addition,the form-biasing spring 80 urges both the male and the female windingforms 40 and 42 toward the stator core 22 to securely hold them againstthe coil support extensions 26 so that the coil retaining fingers 28,lodged within the pockets 50 will be effective to prevent the windingforms 40 and 42 from moving radially inwardly of the stator 20.

FIG. 1 illustrates a pair of winding form carriages, namely a malewinding form carriage 90 and a female winding form carriage 92.Carriages 90 and 92 are used to assemble and disassemble the windingforms 40, 42, 44 and 46 and the stator 20. In practice, an unwoundstator 20 would be held by a track (not shown) or other apparatus, suchas a turret (not shown), in position to receive the winding forms 40,42, 44 and 46 at a form-loading station represented in FIG. 1. Theform-loading station would also be the winding station if the windingtook place at that station--as is suggested by the illustration of theram 36 in FIG. 1. However, assembly of the forms and the stator couldtake place either at the winding station or at another station, such asa stator load/unload station.

Male form support carriage 90 includes a slide track 94 with a dovetailgroove 96 that receives a slide 98 which carries a vertical supportbracket 100 from which project a pair of horizontal form support pins102 and 104 adapted to enter, respectively, through bores 106 and 108 inthe left side, or male, upper and lower winding forms 40 and 44. Avertical stop plate 110 is mounted on the near end (as viewed in FIG. 1)of the slide track 94 and carries a spacer 112 that, when the slidetrack 94 is appropriately positioned relative to the male winding forms40 and 44, enters the gap between them. Spacer 112 cooperates with theform support pins 102 and 104 to maintain the relative positions of themale winding forms 40 and 44 so that their rods 54 remain horizontallyoriented when they are not interengaged with the female forms 42 and 46.

Male form support carriage 90 further comprises an upper latch releasepin 114 and a lower latch release pin 116 that are adapted to enternotches 118 in the sides of the male winding forms 40 and 44 and engagethe ends of their latch levers 60 biased by the springs 66. When soengaged, the upper and lower latch levers 60 are rotated or pivotedagainst the bias of their associated springs 66 out of engagement withtheir associated latch retaining member 70. (See FIG. 4) In FIG. 4 itwill also be observed that the stop plate 110 abuts the side of thewinding form 40 opposite the notch 114 in order to prevent the windingform 40 sliding off its support pin 102 under influence of the spring66.

Female form carriage 92 includes a slide track 120 with a dovetailgroove 122 that receives a slide 124 which carries a vertical supportbracket 126 from which project a pair of horizontal female form supportpins 128 and 130 adapted to enter, respectively, through bores 132 and134 in the right side, or female, upper and lower winding forms 42 and46. A vertical stop plate 136 is mounted on the near end (as viewed inFIG. 1) of the slide track 120 and carries a spacer 138 that, when theslide track 120 is appropriately positioned relative to the femalewinding forms 42 and 46, enters the gap between them. Spacer 138cooperates with the form support pins 128 and 130 to maintain therelative positions of the female winding forms 42 and 46 so that theirsockets 56 remain horizontally oriented when they are not interengagedwith the rods 54 of the male forms 40 and 44.

With reference to FIGS. 4, 6, 9 and 10, the head 82 of the latchretaining pin 74 is formed with a sloping or cam surface 140 that isengaged by the female form support pin 128 as it passes therethrough,whereupon the latch retaining member 70 is pushed against the bias ofthe spring 80 toward the male winding form 40. As will be furtherdescribed below, the latching flange 72 of the latch retaining member 70is thereby disengaged from the latch lever hook 68.

To better show details, the male winding forms 40 and 44 are shown inFIG. 1 separated from the female forms 42 and 46 and the form supportingparts of the winding form carriages 90 and 92 are shown separated fromthe winding forms. This condition would not occur in practice. Rather,the winding forms are always supported on the carriages 90 and 92 exceptwhen they are locked on the core support extensions of a stator. Inoperation, with an unwound stator 20 at the form loading station, theforms carried by the carriages 90 and 92 are advanced toward oneanother, as indicated by the arrows 150 and 152, until the parts reachthe position shown in FIG. 4. The stator is not illustrated in FIG. 4but FIG. 4 represents the position of the parts of the upper windingform assembly 52 when the forms 40 and 42 are fully advanced toward oneanother and engaged with the stator coil support extensions. During theadvancement of the forms 40 and 4 toward one another, the axialalignment of the male rods 54 with the female sockets 56 is assuredbecause the spring 66 urges the male form 40 toward its associated stopplate 110 so that the desired location of the male form 40 is maintainedand the female winding form 42 is clamped between its associated stopplate 136 and support bracket 126. Of course, the relative axialpositions of the stop plates 110 and 136 are controlled in any suitablemanner, such as by mechanical guides (not shown).

When the winding forms are held against the stop plates 110 and 136, thelatch lever 60 carried by the male form 40 is held "open" out of alatching position, as shown in FIG. 4, by reason of the engagement ofthe latch release pin 114 therewith. Immediately after the parts reachthe position shown in FIG. 4, the carriage slide 98 is retracted fromthe male winding form 40, in the direction of the arrow 154 in FIG. 1,whereupon the latch release pin 114 is disengaged from the latch lever60, permitting it to respond to the bias of the spring 66 by rotating sothat its hook 68 engages behind the latching flange 72. Retraction ofthe male form support carriage slide 98 is continued until the male formsupport pin 102 is retracted out of the bore 106.

After the latch lever 60 rotates into a latch "closed" position, thefemale form support carriage 92 is retracted, as indicated by arrow 156in FIG. 1. Accordingly, the female form support pin 128 is moved out ofengagement with the head 82 of the latch retaining pin 74 and the latchretaining member 70, under the bias of its associated spring 80, ispulled outwardly (to the right as viewed in FIG. 4) so that its latchingflange 72 becomes firmly engaged with the latch lever hook 68. Bothcarriages 90 and 92 are moved away from the stator, in respectivedirections opposite to the arrows 150 and 152 in FIG. 1. The upperwinding form assembly 52 is now free from the carriages 90 and 92 andlatched together as shown in FIG. 5. Spring 80 effectively pulls on themale winding form 40 and pushes on the female winding form 42 so thatthe two forms are thereby biased into engagement with the coil supportextensions of the stator in the form loading station. The stator coilsare now wound whereafter the latch mechanism 58 is u latched and thewinding forms 40 and 42 are removed from the stator by manipulation ofthe carriages 90 and 92. The manner in which the carriages 90 and 92unlatch and remove the winding forms is apparent from the foregoingdescription. However, it should be noted that the female form supportpin 128 is desirably inserted into the bore 132 of the female form 42sufficiently to move the latching flange 72 out of engagement with thelatch lever hook 68 before the male latch release pin 114 pressesagainst the latch lever 60. Otherwise, the interengaged hook 68 andflange 72 might frictionally interfere with the operation of the maleform support carriage 90.

It will be apparent that the lower winding forms 42 and 46 will bemanipulated in the same way as, and simultaneously with, the upperwinding forms 42 and 44.

FIGS. 11 and 12 show a modified winding forms assembly, generallydesignated 160, having a latch member or lever 162 rotatably mounted ina bore in a male winding form 164 for rotation about an axis generallyparallel to the axis of a stator (not shown) on which the winding formassembly 160 is mounted. The latch lever is held against axial movementrelative to the winding form 164 by its head 166 and a retaining ring168. The cooperating female winding form, designated 170, may beidentical to the female winding form 42 described above.

In operation, the latch lever 162, which is frictionally restrained by aspring biased ball element 172 cooperating with detents 174 and 176 onthe lever 162, is rotated in opposite directions through 90° to eitherenable its hook, designated 177, to be engaged with or disengaged from alatching flange 178 of a spring biased latch retaining member 180.Compare the unlatched condition shown in FIGS. 11, 13 and 14 with thelatched condition shown in FIGS. 12, 15 and 16. Rotation of the latchlever 162 is readily accomplished by use of suitable tool 182 adopted tobe engaged within a depression 184 in the outer end of the latch lever162. The tool 182 and its operating mechanisms are preferably mounted onthe same carriage (not shown) that manipulates the male winding form 164or they may be separately mounted.

Although the presently preferred embodiments of this invention has beendescribed, it will be understood that within the purview of thisinvention various changes may be made within the scope of the followingclaims.

I claim:
 1. In a stator winding apparatus for winding a field coil ontoa two pole stator core of the type having pole pieces with coil supportextensions that support the end turns of the stator coils, said coilsupport extensions having outwardly extending coil retaining fingers,said apparatus being of the type comprising a winding head assembly thatreciprocates and oscillates to draw wire from a source of wire undertension to wind said coils and having two pairs of interfitting windingforms located on opposite sides of the stator core for guiding the wireover said coil support extensions and around said pole pieces, theimprovement wherein said winding forms are constructed to be mounted onsaid coil support extensions and have surfaces engaging the outermostsurfaces of said coil retaining fingers so that said winding forms areprevented from moving radially inwardly of said stator core, each pairof said winding forms having a latch mechanism interconnecting them, andeach pair of said winding forms having spring means coacting between oneof said winding forms and said latch mechanism for biasing said windingforms against said coil support extensions.
 2. The improvement of claim1 further comprising a pair of winding form carriages that move saidwinding forms toward and away from a stator to be wound, both of saidwinding form carriages including means for supporting said winding formswhen not supported by a stator core.
 3. The improvement of claim 1wherein said latch mechanism comprises a latch lever rotatably connectedto one of said winding forms and extending toward the other of saidwinding forms of the same pair of winding forms and terminating in afree end adjacent the other of said winding forms, said latch leverhaving a latching flange extending generally perpendicularly from saidfree end thereof, and said latch mechanism further comprises a latchretaining member mounted on said other of said winding forms, said latchretaining member having a latch hook positioned to be engaged with anddisengaged from said latching flange by rotation of said latch lever. 4.The improvement of claim 3 wherein said latch lever is rotatable aboutan axis generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of a stator core onwhich said winding forms are mounted.
 5. The improvement of claim 4wherein said latch retaining member is slidably mounted on said other ofsaid winding forms and said spring means comprises a spring coactingbetween said latch retaining member and said other of said windingforms.
 6. The improvement of claim 4 wherein said first winding formincludes detent means for resisting rotation of said latch lever into orout of engagement with said latching flange.
 7. The improvement of claim6 further comprising means for rotating said latch lever.
 8. Theimprovement of claim 3 wherein said latch lever is rotatable about anaxis generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of a stator coreon which said winding forms are mounted.
 9. The improvement of claim 8wherein said latch retaining member is slidably mounted on said other ofsaid winding forms and said spring means comprises a spring coactingbetween said latch retaining member and said other of said windingforms.
 10. The improvement of claim 9 further comprising a winding formcarriage that moves said one of said winding forms toward and away froma stator to be wound.
 11. The improvement of claim 10 wherein said oneof said winding forms has an aperture extending therethrough, and saidwinding form carriage includes a pin slidable in said aperture forsupporting said one of said winding forms when not supported by a statorcore.
 12. The improvement of claim 10 wherein said latch mechanismfurther comprises second spring means engaged with said one of saidwinding forms for biasing said latch lever into engagement with saidlatch retaining member, and said carriage includes means engagable withsaid latch lever for rotating the same against the bias of said secondspring means when said one of said winding forms is supported by saidcarriage.
 13. In a method for winding a field coil onto a two polestator core of the type having pole pieces with coil support extensionsextending therefrom, said coil support extensions having outwardlyextending coil retaining fingers, using apparatus of the type comprisinga winding head assembly that reciprocates and oscillates to draw wirefrom a source of wire under tension to wind said coils, the steps ofmounting said winding forms on said coil support extensions withsurfaces of said winding forms so engaged with the outermost surfaces ofsaid coil retaining fingers so that said winding forms are preventedbecause of the engagement between said winding forms and said outermostsurfaces of said coil retaining fingers from moving radially inwardly ofsaid stator core, clamping said winding forms to said coil supportextensions, winding coils on said stator, and removing said windingforms.
 14. The method of claim 13 further comprising the steps ofproviding a pair of carriages, supporting said two pairs of windingforms on said carriages, and accomplishing said mounting and removingsteps by manipulation of said carriages.
 15. The method of claim 13wherein said winding forms are clamped to said coil support extensionsby coupling the two winding forms of each pair of winding forms to oneanother by means including resilient means that biases said two windingforms of each pair toward one another.